The Keeper and The Key
by DeaSelene
Summary: She has to keep the balance but can the boys keep her... alive? Tyler finally finds love, to Reid's amusement. [rating may go up]
1. The Prophecy

The Keeper and the Key

There was once a prophecy of which foretold of an angel who fell to earth. The angel held great beauty; her skin as fair as porcelain, with eyes like shining silver and hair decorated with the stars in the galaxy. While on earth, she had lost her way, not being able to return to the heavens. For several days, she roamed the world, while in the process being shown the many cruelties of mankind.

The other angels had descended from heaven to find their lost friend but discovered it to be too late. They found the angel had lost her wings and her eyes seemed hollow and filled with fear. They returned to the Creator, symbol of all things pure and good, and informed him of the terrible news. The Creator looked down upon his fallen angel from the heavens and took pity on her.

He sent his best messenger to tell her of his plans for her. The messenger informed the angel that she could no longer enter the gates of heaven for her pure heart had already been exposed to the deception and evils of the world. Instead, she would live out her life as a mortal, living every day as that of any other human created. And on the day she would die, only then would she be able to return home.

As the messenger departed, the angel wept. Slowly, her memories of the being she once was began to slip away into a hazy mist. Her glow was now gone and she was stripped of her immortality.

Many days had gone by. Eventually, the angel had found love and bore a child. A beautiful baby girl.

The child's name was synonymous to trust and hope – the very two things she would bring to the world.

On the eve of her arrival, calamity struck, instantly killing her father and badly injuring her mother.

Amidst all the rubble and dust came the baby's cries. Her mother held her tightly in her arms to comfort her. It was just going to be the two of them.

Through the darkness came a man dressed sharply from head to toe in black. As he walked, both mother and child could sense an aura of evil about him. He was strange. The man had shining yellow eyes that glowed with the promise of something dark. That man was a demon.

The Demon began to tempt the angel by telling her he would spare her daughters life. BUT, in return, she would have to give him her soul. Willingly, the dying mother accepted and signed a cryptic looking contract in her own blood. The Demon cackled as he succeeded in yet again collecting another soul. He took the baby into his arms and left without another word, leaving the mother to die and her soul to walk forever in the depths of the underworld.

Thus, the prophecy was completed; for time and destiny had soon taken control. And through the events that had unfolded, the Keeper and the Key was finally born.

-

**Hey guys! I hope you enjoy this one. I just couldn't get it out of my head so I had to write it down. This might turn out to be a one-shot but hopefully your reviews might change my mind. –wink- I promise you there's more to this story and is definitely connected to The Covenant in some way. **

**I just definitely hope you guys R&R. Many thanks in advance!**

**- DeaSelene**


	2. The Encounter

Strobe lights flashed on towards the night sky, bouncing off countless bodies swaying to the beat of the loud, pumping music along the way. The bonfire burned brightly and provided enough light to suffice the needs of the various partygoers. At one corner stood numerous kegs and iceboxes with enough sodas to quench everyone's thirst, at another stood the gigantic stage, in which the DJ stood along with the lookout, pumping out beats for his audience. The stage provided place for four large amplifiers, two on each side, and turntables that went right in the middle of the rock star-like display.

From the stage, you could see the numerous teenagers banging and grinding against one another in time to every beat. Among the sea of faces, if you looked closely enough, four of them in particular would eventually stand out; A headstrong leader, a biker with a passion, a rebel without a cause and an all out good-guy with a strong fire. Four seemingly different personalities and yet they seemed closer than ever

Through all their differences, one similarity towers over all others. Only one similarity brings them together to form their bond of friendship and brotherhood: The Power; the blessing and curse all rolled into one, the very entity that holds the key to endless possibilities.

Bestowed upon them during the time of their births, they are bound by two simple rules. The first was: Use, and age. To live every day with a silent battle against yourself. Give in and be tempted. Use, and age.

The second: to forever uphold the sacred laws of the Covenant. Silence was the key. Let no other man stumble upon the secret.

-

Tyler was his name, Tyler Simms. He was the youngest among his circle, sporting brown hair and piercing crystal blue eyes. His being born last only earned him his current nickname: 'Baby Boy'. But despite this and his well-known gentlemanly-like persona, he too had his moments on the bad side. With forever following around Reid Garwin, the friend closest to him, that kind of adventurous attitude tends to rub off on you.

He scanned the crowd, surveying every face on the dance floor. The mass of dancers had somehow separated them as they arrived. He studied them carefully, searching for his friends. By the small sand hills was where Reid Garwin stood, hands hidden deep into the sides of his jean pockets, letting off his notorious bad-ass reputation. He was a blond and, as the phrase went, believed that he indeed had more fun. He liked to run on the dangerous side of things. He took pride in his being 'special' and used his powers for mischief, which therefore led him to the occasional bar fights at Nicky's, their favorite hang-out.

Next, Tyler saw Caleb Danvers, the self-proclaimed leader of their group and proverbial pain in the ass when it came to their powers. He was the most uptight of them all when it came to Using, but only because he feared that he and his friends would lose control and receive the same fate his own father had. He was most likely to be all over Reid's case therefore launching the both of them into constant arguments with each other that would sometimes end up nasty. Though despite their constant bickering, the pair always managed to get along, one way or another.

Caleb was with Pouge Parry, another member of their brotherhood. Pouge was a rider. He loved his motorcycle more than anything else, except his girlfriend Kate, of course. He was closest to Caleb and treated him with the utmost respect. In a way, he was like Caleb's right-hand man but once he had made a decision, there would be no stopping him.

Tyler waved a hand towards Caleb and Pouge's direction, indicating that he was on his way there. Reid, also seeing this, began dodging around countless dancers that got in his way to reach them.

"Hey, fellas." greeted Reid as he sauntered over to them, a sly look on his face. After their usual exchange of small talk, Tyler excused himself from them. "I'm gonna go get a soda." He mentioned before ambling away.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the area stood Faith Nadine Branwen, or Faith as she normally wanted to be called, by the steps of the large stage. She, too, was scanning the sea of faces while mentally scolding herself for agreeing to go to the 'Backup' annual Spencer party. A group of students had organized a second party, after the first one had been cut short by the police last week. She removed the elastic band tied around her hair and ran her fingers through her long, brown, wave-like curls. She should have never come alone, but she had no choice. During all her time at Spencer, she had not managed to make –or keep- a single friend within grasp without freaking them out in some way.

Eventually, rumors had begun to spread about her. Many people had labeled her 'weird' and 'freaky' only because they could never understand. In a way, Faith _was_ a freak. She was different. She had been ever since she was born.

Faith had special abilities that involved her mind. She was both telekinetic and a mind reader, which were both a burden and a blessing to her everyday life. Her being a mind reader was the main reason why she had never held on to many friends. She had always freaked them out by answering their thoughts.

But still, being able to read minds had its perks. For instance, whenever she would get caught sleeping in class and be asked a question, she would just drift into the teacher's mind and pluck out the answer, thus saving herself from further punishment.

She snapped out of her almost-silent reverie and sighed inwardly. Maybe it was time to head home. She threaded through the restless crowd and made her way past the beverage area, bumping into someone along the way and making them spill their soda. She quietly halted the liquid from spilling onto her shirt and prayed that he didn't notice. "Geeze, I am really sorry." Said the boy with brown hair and piercing blue eyes. "It's okay. You didn't get any on me." She replied, already starting on her way towards the forest.

"Weird that you didn't get wet, I thought for sure that I had spilled some." He said after her.

"Well, I guess I'm just lucky!" she turned around and shrugged her shoulders, walking backwards.

"Hey, again, I'm sorry!"

"No problem!"

She continued walking through the thick shrubbery and twisting trees before spying something from the corner of her eye. She spun her head to her right and spotted another bonfire burning in the distance. Curiosity got the best of her and she crept closer to the glowing flames. Once there, she discovered other people gathered there. All of them simply sat there, staring into the flames as if awaiting someone. She would have inched nearer, but the feeling of someone behind her made her tense. "Hey!" the person said, grabbing her by the shoulder. She jumped and let out a frightened whimper before her knees gave way.

"You alright?"

She looked up from the ground to find that boy she had bumped into a while ago standing right in front of her with a questioning look. She quickly dusted herself off and bolted to her feet.

"When you bumped into me back there, you dropped this." He fished something out of his pocket and held it up for her to see. "Your keys?"

She quickly snatched them from his hand and mumbled her thanks.

"Sorry I startled you. It's just that, it seemed like you were going to walk right off the edge."

"The edge?" she asked him. Sure enough, when she turned her head, the bonfire had vanished and was replaced by empty space. The twinkling night sky and a stretch of even more trees filled her view. She looked down and fell back, the height making her dizzy. She blinked several times before he spoke out. "What were you doing here, anyway?"

"N-nothing." She stammered. "I just… I just thought I saw something, that's all."

She walked around him and turned her head. "Um, thanks." She told him before finding her way brusquely out of the clump of trees and towards where her cherry-red 1966 Mustang GT convertible awaited her.

**Okay so that's it for Chapter 2. I hope everyone will approve. I took my time on this, seeing as this is kind of special for me. Please everyone, I hope to hear helpful and/or good reviews from you guys. Also, I've put up a photo gallery for my characters. The link is located in my profile, if you wish to take a look. **

**EDIT: I noticed a small plot hole in this chapter while writing chapter 3 so I changed a little something. Not huge or anything but you'll understand once you read future chapters.**

**-- DeaSelene**


	3. Tackled

"Good morning, Hannah." Faith yawned as she clambered down the spiral steps leading towards the kitchen of her Tudor-style home. She was referring to the red-headed woman standing by the stove, making breakfast. She gave a small smile and sat down by the kitchen counter. "Well, good morning to you, too, Nadine." Hannah replied, cheerily.

Hannah Morrison was Faith's guardian. She had snatched her away from the clutches of a demon when she was still an infant. Over the years, she had grown fond of Faith and liked to call her by her second name, Nadine instead. Just recently she had begun teaching Faith how to control her powers more as well as a couple of new tricks.

A smile stretched over her beautiful face as she piled waffles onto two white, porcelain plates; which were then followed by strips of bacon and scrambled eggs. Hannah was an excellent cook. "Mmmm… That smells soo good, Han." Faith commented as she raised a finger to summon a strip of bacon. "Ah, ah! Not so fast, Nadine! Put it back." She playfully scolded as she looked over her shoulder to catch her in the act. Faith frowned, putting back the piece of bacon on the plate and lowering her finger. "But I'm starving!" She complained.

"Well it would be well of you to wait." Hannah replied, carrying the plates over to the counter.

"Yay!"

"Could you please get the juice?" Hannah took a seat on the barstool across from Faith.

"No problemo." She lifted her eyebrows in the direction of the refrigerator and opened the door.

"Could you please stand _up_, to get it?" Hannah hurriedly added. "You know how I don't like you to abuse your powers."

"Fine." She groaned and slowly stood up. She made her way to the fridge, got out a pitcher of freshly squeezed orange juice and set it on the table. "Thank you, Nadine." Her guardian said sweetly.

The pair sat quietly enjoying the delicious breakfast Hannah had made before Hannah spoke up.

"So, How was the party last night?" she asked, her dark-blue eyes twinkling.

Faith groaned and continued to pour syrup over her waffles. "Terrible. I am never taking your advice to attend parties and mingle, ever again."

"That bad? Didn't you find someone to talk to?"

"No. Well, I did bump into a guy on my way to my car."

"and?" she coaxed.

"And nothing. He almost spilled soda all over me, but I did a little… deflecting."

"Faith!" Hannah said warningly.

"But he didn't notice! So don't worry."

"Well, what's his name?"

"I dunno. I didn't really stick around to find out. I was bored."

"Well you should have talked to him so you would be un-bored."

Faith simply shrugged her shoulders and popped a portion of her waffle into her mouth.

"So, excited for school next week?" Hannah asked after taking a sip of her juice. Faith swallowed the piece of waffle in her mouth hurriedly before answering.

"Are you really going to ask me that question at every new school I go to?"

The both of them had moved around a lot, ever since Faith was a little girl. Secutus, followers of the demon that killed Faith's parents, had tried to steal her away one night. That's when they began moving around from city to city. It was very hard for her to adjust to the constant moving. She was never really around the place for too long to make strong friendships.

"Well, it's different this time. Because this time, you're coming back for your second year at your school!" Hannah said excitedly. It was true. Faith had transferred in during junior year and was now going to be a senior come Monday morning. It was the longest time they've ever stayed in a town, because they would normally transfer after a year.

"Well, I guess it feels pretty good to be coming back this time."

"And you'll be turning eighteen!" Hannah exclaimed, but then fell silent with realization. That was another complication in Faith's life. Hannah would only be around until she was eighteen and old enough to take care of herself. After that, she would be on her own. She perked up once more, refusing to let her feeling of sadness get to her. Seeing this, Faith reached across the counter for her guardian's hand.

"Hey, it's okay. You really can still stay with me." She gave a comforting smile.

"That would be lovely." She replied softly, although knowing what would truly happen to her when the time finally came. "Well come on, you're not eighteen just yet. I still have tons of things to teach you."

-

Tyler looked down at the folded piece of paper in his hands that was his class schedule and sighed inwardly. "Senior year, gents!" Pouge exclaimed as he rested his hands on Caleb and Tyler's shoulder. "One more year, then goodbye Spencer and hello Harvard!" Caleb replied excitedly.

"Woah, but not before we conquer the campus first." Tyler chimed in.

"Don't go all preppy-and-high-school-spirited on us now, baby boy." Reid teased, punching him on the arm and ruffling his brown hair. "How 'dork' of you."

Tyler grinned. He was being kind of a dork, but still, he knew that even Reid was looking forward to senior year.

Caleb felt someone giving him a light nudge on the shoulder and looked to his right. It was Pouge, nodding his head in the direction of the other side of the hallway.

"Hey man, look who it is."

Caleb craned his neck to see behind him. There, he saw Sarah, taking books out of her locker and let an involuntary smile creep across his face.

"I said it once and I'll say it again, she wants you, man." Pouge said, patting his good friend on the back. Reid, who looked towards the end of the hallway as well, gave a small sneer.

"And _I_ said it once and _I'll_ say it again, too. This isn't over."

"Then allow me to repeat that little bit when I also told you not to be so jealous. Face facts, man. Sarah digs Caleb."

"Whatever."

The bell rang and both Pouge and Reid continued their argument on the way to their first period. Tyler and Caleb exchanged looks of amusement and followed right behind. When they rounded a corner, Caleb decided it was time to intervene. He squeezed himself in between Reid and Pouge and told them it was enough. Just when Caleb and Reid were about to launch into an argument of their own, a loud crashing sound came from behind them followed by a flurry of books and papers and finally two loud thuds on the floor.

All of them whirled around to find Tyler flat on the ground with a dark-haired girl sprawled on top of him. All three boys smirked, but it was Reid who managed to speak up.

"Well, looks like senior year _IS_ turning out to be Baby Tyler's year after all." He leaned over Tyler, resting both hands on his thighs, to get a better look at the person still rested on top of his friend. "_Damn_, down girl. He's still a bit inexperienced, so I don't think you'll get much outta this guy."

"I am _so_ sorry!" the girl burst out, surveying their position and immediately getting off him. The pair looked very awkward sprawled on top of each other. She prayed that everyone had already gone inside.

"I really didn't mean to tackle you over like that, I thought I was running really late and-"

"Hey, it's you!" Tyler exclaimed when his vision cleared. Everything around him seemed to spin until that moment. He looked around him and noticed that their papers and books were still scattered all over the hallway and began to pick them up.

"What do you mean? Have we met before?" the girl asked, now resting on her knees.

"I'm the guy who returned your keys to you and stopped you from jumping off that cliff." He chuckled but then abruptly paused after realizing what he had just said. Tyler wasn't exactly the master when it came to girls. He was always awkward around them and would unintentionally blabber off and say the wrong thing.

"Oh yeah! I remember. Yeah, sorry about that I didn't recognize you. It was too dark to see."

It looked like luck was on his side today, because the girl didn't seem to notice his rude comment.

"Oh so _this_ is that crazy cliff-jumper chick you were telling us about in the car that night!"

Then again, Reid was always there to turn things back around. Reid chuckled as he rested his elbow on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry, he's always normally this rude." Tyler said, continuing to pick up their belongings. The girl stood, walking over to a row of lockers and picking something up. It was her glasses, Tyler assumed from the way she was holding the object. And it seemed from the look on her face that they were broken.

She walked over to him and began picking up their belongings as well. Afterwards, both of them stood and returned each others things. "Uhm, thanks. Er-for everything. And again, I am REALLY sorry for tackling you like that. I didn't mean to."

"It's fine. No injuries here."

"Hey kids, I don't want to rain on your little moment there but I'm pretty sure Mrs. Porter will skin our asses if we don't show up any time soon." Pouge reminded them. He and Caleb had been standing there the entire time.

"We better get inside before I get you into even more trouble." Said the girl and zoomed passed the boys and into the room.

-

Tyler had been staring at the girl for the entirety of the class. He had run into her three times already but still hadn't managed to get her name. Mrs. Porter continued with her lecture and, thankfully, hadn't noticed Tyler's lack of concentration. "…Now next week, we will be covering the topics presented on page ninety-five, so I expect all of you will manage to read at least a paragraph or so on that topic."

The entire class groaned in protest.

"Summer vacation is _OVER_, people. Time to get back to reality."

Tyler got out his history book and opened to the assigned page. He slowly flicked through the pages, not really interested in reading ahead but rather doing it to look like he was paying attention, all the while his attention averting back to that girl who was seated up front.

Suddenly, his eyes caught a glimpse of a page that had strange scribbling within its margins. He stopped flipping through the pages and went back to where the doodles were. He turned the book around on its side and noticed the doodles were actually letters that spelled out a name. '_Faith Branwen_.' He thought, and as if on cue, the girl turned around and gave him a small smile. Was that her name? He smiled back at her but then it faded when she turned away. She was wearing her glasses. The same glasses that he was sure had broken just a while ago. '_She just probably has a spare.' _

-

After class, Tyler zoomed past Reid who looked after him questioningly. He wanted to make sure he would catch up to her and return her book. He saw her almost out of the door but then noticed that she fell back.

"Hey." He greeted, tucking her book under his arm.

"Hey!" she replied.

"So, you're Faith Branwen?" he asked, taking out the book from under his arm and holding it out for her. She smiled at this and took out a similar book.

"And you're Tyler Simms?"

"If this is yours, then that is definitely mine."

The both of them exchanged smiles and returned each others books.

"I guess I know where my stuff will end up now if ever I lose anything." She chuckled, returning her book into her bag.

"I guess you do. Although, I hope that the next time I return something, you and-or I won't be in some kind of physical danger." He replied shyly. That line definitely came out of nowhere.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure." She looked at him and then quickly took off her glasses and stuffed them into her bag.

"Those your spare?" he asked her.

"Spare? No. I don't have any spares. I just end up leaving them everywhere."

"Really? I was sure they were broken when I saw you bending over to pick them up just a while ago."

She looked away from him and bit her lip. _Damn. He noticed._

"Er-really? Well, I _was_ just using them back there during history. So I guess they're not." She replied when she turned back to face him. "Besides, you seem like you see a lot of things."

He smiled down at her. He was just a bit taller than she was. She liked it.

"and- you were watching me bend over to pick my glasses up?" she said to him, an insolent smile spreading across her face that was very unlike her. He blushed at this and began to stutter. "Well I-"

"I'm kidding, of course."

"Hey Ty! You comin' or not?!" shouted Reid from the door. He was watching them.

"You better go. Your friend's waiting." She told him, nodding a head towards Reid.

The both of them bid each other goodbye before Tyler began to make his way back to Reid.

"Oh, and Tyler?" she called out from behind him. He turned around to look at her.

"I hope you like history. The stuff on page ninety-five is a bit interesting once you get to look at it."

She smiled before rounding the corner and disappearing. Reid looked at Tyler, who was just as confused as he was, and grinned. "Dude, you attract crazy chicks."

**-**

**Okay while I was writing this chapter, I noticed that there was a small plot hole with the 2****nd**** chapter. So, I changed it just a teeny bit. **

**A picture of Hannah is now available in my album. Just check out my profile for the link.**

**Lastly, please check out my other fic "Defiance" and "Coming For You" by ourobsession. I co-wrote CFY, that's why I'm advertising. Lol. **

**-DeaSelene **


	4. Freak Gets A Friend

**Chapter 4**

"_Miss Branwen!_" the professor's voice thundered quite loudly throughout the entire classroom. Everyone had fallen into a dead silence. The outburst had gotten all their attentions quite quickly.

Faith felt a sharp, painful stab go through her ribs and awoke – disgruntled and very annoyed. "Hey!" she spat out unknowingly to the person beside her, the obvious culprit. "Miss Branwen." The professor thundered even more threateningly this time, which jerked Faith out of her grogginess and knocked some sense into her. _Oh, crap._ She thought. "Yes, Mr. Cromwell." She said quickly. Mr. Cromwell was her English Professor. He was an uptight, 40-year-old British man with a slight accent and in Faith's opinion, was too dedicated to his job and loved it way too much for normal standards.

Mr. Cromwell bore his eyes into hers. She gulped. "I'm quite sorry that my lecture has not captured your interest. Perhaps something a bit more advanced can keep your mind working." Mr. Cromwell loved to ask immensely difficult questions on English Literature as punishment and humiliation to anyone who even thought about doing something else during his class. He chose questions that weren't even covered in his lectures or the text book that the school provided. "Much Ado About Nothing, Vortigern and Rowena, A Lover's Complaint. Tell me, what exactly are these three titles of?"

Faith tried very hard not to crumble on the spot. Leave it to Mr. Cromwell to ask the most ridiculous questions ever. She pulled herself together and cleared her mind. There was no way in hell she could ever know the answer by herself. She needed a little 'assistance'.

She entered his mind, sorting through memories of fuzzy cats prowling around his home to that tearful day he finally left his parent's home. Somewhere in between his memories, she struck gold. Thousands and thousands of pages filled with Shakespearean history, quotes, stories and facts were laid out before her. Man, this guy really DID love his job too much.

"As expected, you don't have an answer, do you?" he said with a look of triumph spreading all throughout his face. "Just to illuminate you – and everyone else in this class - "

"Shakespeare." She said blankly.

"What?" Professor Cromwell muttered. His thundering tone suddenly lowered its volume.

"The three titles you've mentioned were titles of some of Shakespeare's works. Much Ado About Nothing is a comedy; Vortigern and Rowena - or Vortigern, a Historic Play – was said to be a newly-discovered play written by Shakespeare. However, it was later revealed to be part of Shakespearean Apocrypha.; Lastly, A Lover's Complaint is a narrative poem." She explained calmly. For a moment, the professor looked like he was about to explode from all the emotions recurring all at once. Faith simply sat there, trying hard to look calm but fidgeting below the desk.

"That's… That is… absolutely correct, Ms. Branwen. Er – excellent work. Excellent." At the mention of her 'excellent work', Faith began to relax a little bit. "Although, you still get detention - for today, at least."

"What?!" she unexpectedly blurted out.

"I've had quite enough of you dozing off during my bloody class." his British descent was shining through brightly at use of the word 'bloody'. For a moment he glared at her, as if telling her not to push her luck. She bit her lip.

"Yes, sir." She mumbled quietly.

-

The school bell rang, signaling the end of morning classes and the beginning of lunch period; Tyler was rummaging through his locker and putting away some of his books.

"You know what _I've_ noticed lately?" said a slow and taunting voice from behind Tyler's locker door. It was Reid, his hands in his pockets and a smirk firmly plastered on his face. Tyler rolled his eyes before replying. "No, and I don't think I'd care."

"That crazy chick that's been trying to kill you these past couple of days seems to be giving you the oogle eyes." Reid continued, not bothering on paying his friend any attention.

"What?" Tyler asked, slamming his locker door shut and looked at Reid for the first time.

"But I guess she needs to stalk you now, seeing as she _is_ trying to kill you and all. You know, planning the perfect murder and shit."

Just then, Kate approached them. "Who's planning the perfect murder?" she asked. Kate was ever the curious gossiper.

"You know, I really didn't quite catch her name." Reid said to Kate before turning to Tyler. "What did you say Ms. Crazy-stalker-girl's name was?"

"I didn't and for your information, her name's Faith." Tyler said, sounding more offended than he'd intended to be.

Reid raised his hands in mock surrender. "You know if I didn't know you that well, I'd say you had the hots for miss… whatever her name was." Reid elbowed his friend's ribs, winked then clicked his tongue against his back teeth in a teasing gesture.

"oh, stop giving him a hard time, Reid. A girl should be good for Tyler." Kate said with a wink. Did everyone think he was that lame?

"Oh God, Kate, you did not just say that. I mean yeah, I agree, a chick would take Tyler here up a notch but geez that chick is nuts."

"Hey!" Tyler said, defensively. "She's actually pretty cool, if you just got to talking to her."

"Speaking of which…" Reid trailed off. Faith had just walked passed, at first with a disgruntled look but then it changed very quickly into a weird smile when she had spotted Tyler. She gave a small wave at him and he returned the gesture. She was so busy looking at Tyler that she had bumped into the garbage can around the corner. Reid laughed hysterically at this and clutched at his stomach. "Do you see what I mean?"

Kate stifled a giggle before becoming a bit more serious. "Wait, you mean _that_ was the Faith that's been crushing on you?"

"She is not." Tyler squeaked; he was beginning to turn red.

"Reid's right for once, Tyler."

"He is?"

"I am?"

"He is." She said finally. "She does have a reputation for being kind of weird."

"Oh really? How so?" Reid asked, now very curious to know about Faith.

"It's like she knows exactly what goes on in your mind or something."

"What, like a mind reader?" Tyler asked.

"Exactly." Kate snapped her fingers and pointed at him.

"And there's one more thing…" she paused dramatically, "I can't really describe it, but weird stuff happens around that girl. I don't know exactly what but from what I've heard, it's pretty freaky."

Tyler and Reid exchanged knowing smirks at each other. Like they weren't freakier; oh the things Kate never knew about her dear Pogue.

"Anyway, have you seen Pogue?" she asked, changing the topic completely.

"He should be here soon Kate, I mean he _is_ just a locker away from mine." Tyler assured her.

-

Class had been long over when Faith stepped into the detention room. It was mostly filled with Juniors and Seniors since Sophomores and Freshmen were still too wimpy to break rules at the beginning of the year. Although, for Faith, the detention room was becoming her hang-out spot after class.

"Your late." The teacher in charge of detention said in a boring tone.

"Sorry, I had a run in with a garbage can back at lunch and had to get my ribs and wrist checked at the nurse's office after class." She said, knowing that her excuse was useless since the teacher had stopped listening at 'Sorry'.

"Just take a seat, Ms. Branwen." The teacher droned on.

Faith took a seat next to a girl with dark hair and wave-like curls. She didn't quite manage to get a look at her because the girl had her face on the desk, asleep and her hair was covering her anyway but still, she made Faith double-back. She didn't know why, but she had a funny resemblance to her. In fact, Faith could have sworn that that girl _was_ her and that she could just probably be dreaming. Freaky.

Faith finally took her seat, all the while not even daring to take her eyes away from her 'twin'. She was surprised when the girl seated next to her began to speak. "Piss off." She said groggily. She reminded her of _her_ when _she_ fell asleep during class.

She could no longer stand the mystery. She quietly began to reach for the girl's shoulder but stopped when the girl lifted her head to look at her. "Yeah?" she asked and a surge of relief went through Faith as she realized that she wasn't staring at herself. Instead, the girl she was staring at was actually rather pretty. She had hazel colored eyes and her slightly mocha-tanned skin went well with her hair.

"Uhm, Hi!" she squeaked, embarrassed for her own paranoia.

"Yeah… hey." The girl replied.

"I'm Faith, Faith Branwen." She introduced herself while holding out a hand for the girl to shake.

"Rebecca, Rebecca Morrigan, but call me Becks." The girl said, shaking her hand.

"So watcha in for?" Faith asked, trying to break the ice. She could be on the verge on making a new friend and she was hell bent on making sure she finally got one this year.

"Slept during history." Rebecca answered as if she did it all the time.

"Seriously? Me too! Except, I slept during English." she replied with a chuckle.

"Girl, you don't even need to tell me what you're in here for. I was there when you humiliated Mr. Cromwell." She smiled, "Good going on those titles. I never thought I'd see the day that that tight-panted loser was going to get his."

Faith smiled at her compliment. She seemed like an alright person after all. At least she wasn't freaked out by her already. "Thanks." She said simply.

"Hey, why don't you come by Saturday night at New Tree Café?" Rebecca said, shuffling through her bag for something. She took out a bright, neon yellow colored flyer which had her name and the address of the cafe on it. "I do gigs there every other Saturday night. You should come."

Faith took the flyer from her hands and examined it. "That'd be great!"


	5. Page NinetyFive

_Ghaahh.. I know, my last update__ was __**centuries**__ ago and I'm sorry! Talk about your writer's block. I'm also sorry that this chapter is kind of short. _

_I hope so much that all my readers are still reading this, I really do. I hope you guys haven't abandoned me yet! _

_I'm__ also__ blank when it comes to an update for 'Defiance' as I too still have no idea what to do with Sophie and the gang. _

_So you guys please comment, and don't be afraid to voice out a couple of ideas and suggestions. I __**really need**__ them. I hope you enjoy this little update. You guys deserve it. _

_-crosses fingers for comments-_

_-deaselene_

**Chapter 5**

Early morning was like hell for Faith as her alarm clock buzzed loudly from her bedside table. She tried to wake up but her eyes felt like anvils. Thick, hazy, warmth had surrounded her. It felt extremely uncomfortable.

She kicked off the sheets that blanketed her but that didn't help one bit; it still felt stuffy. Unable to open her eyes, she felt around her bedside table for the annoying contraption and pounded it off.

Finally forcing her eyes open was a mistake, it only made her feel drowsier. She fell back onto her soft pillows but violently jerked back up when a sneeze erupted from her followed by a loud crashing noise across the room.

Startled, she searched her room for any signs of danger. It took her some effort, but she crawled over to the edge of her bed to find her Japanese vase strewn all over her carpeted floor in pieces.

She sneezed again, her face falling onto the mattress drowsily. There was a loud crack then it sounded like numerous objects falling unto the floor. She struggled to lift her head and saw her small bookshelf broken and her books scattered everywhere.

Then there came the sound of frantic footsteps bounding up the steps and soon enough, Hannah burst through her door. "Nadine!" she cried, running over to her limp body on the bed.

"Haddah," Faith sniffed wearily. Her nose felt clogged and heavy. It made it hard to speak properly.

"What's wrong? What happened?" her hands rolled Faith on her back and her palm shot forward to weary girl's forehead.

"I'b sick," she coughed then sneezed violently. Her pillows whizzed by both of them across the room and fell to the floor as they hit the wall.

"And it looks like your flu is messing with your mental control," she heaved Faith back to her headboard and summoned the pillows back beneath her. "You are definitely not going to school today."

"Thank God."

"How about I whip up some waffles and bacon with some freshly squeezed OJ and some nice hot chicken soup afterwards?" Hannah said all at once. She was such a mother to Faith sometimes; she loved getting the attention.

"Rebid be to get sick bore often." She laughed, all the while trying to suppress a cough.

"I don't think that would be ideal if you're going to rip the place apart." Hannah rose from her place beside Faith and hurried out the door to prepare breakfast.

--

History was just that: history; and it bored Tyler to death sitting in class. The professor explained little 'tidbits' of her topic to the class before instructing them to take out their books and flip to page ninety-five. It was the assigned reading Tyler had forgotten to do.

He consciously bit his lip then turned to the page mentioned. His eyes widened.

Scribbled in the margins of page ninety-five was a phone number in Faith's intricate-looking handwriting. He chuckled to himself, obviously amused at her daringness.

He looked around the classroom in search of her but oddly, she wasn't there.

Where could she be?

He looked behind him at the other students just to make sure. Then, he felt someone jab at his ribs. He twisted around to see Reid giving him one of the widest smirks he'd ever seen.

Instinctively, Tyler put his palm over the number so his friend wouldn't see but he knew that it was too late. Reid flicked off his hand from his book and made a grab for it. He inspected to handwriting and lit up at the signed name.

"Ooohhh.." he purred mischievously. "I didn't know the girl had it in her. You gonna call her?" he winked. Obviously, he was enjoying his friend squirm under his interrogation.

"No! I mean, I… well…" he snatched his book back from him. He held the book protectively in his hands, partly afraid that Reid might try to make a grab for it once more.

Reid just snickered overtly which drew some unneeded attention from the professor to them.

"Mr. Simms, Mr. Garwin, find something amusing, I see." She patronized better than any teacher at Spencer could. She spoke in a tone that made any student feel insignificant. That's just what she did to them.

Both boys fell silent.

"I was just telling everyone here, gentlemen that Ms. Branwen had been reported sick and was looking to find some volunteers to bring her today's homework." Her eyes bored down both of theirs and a hint of smugness sparkled, too.

"Professor Turner?" Reid gingerly raised his hands looking innocent. "Tyler here's just been telling me that he'd _love_ to volunteer."

Tyler's eyebrows shot up at the mention of his suggestion. So did the professor's. Everyone else laughed.

"He would?" she asked, breaking into a smile.

"He would," Reid confirmed. "I would have done it myself but he beat me to it. 'Course he was being kind of shy when it came to actually volunteering so I did the next best thing and told you."

His smirk was unbearable. He was pleased with himself for smoothly getting out of a sticky situation once again.

"I'm so happy that Mr. Simms here is so enthusiastic about volunteering himself."

At her compliment the entire class erupted into a new wave of suppressed giggles.

Just then, the school bell rang and the professor smiled. She handed Tyler a few papers and sent them on their way. Calling back, "Mr. Garwin, you'd do well to follow Mr. Simms' example."

"I'm sure I would, Professor!" he replied smugly.

Immediately after stepping out of the classroom, Reid burst out into laughter.

"Dude, what the hell?" Tyler questioned, annoyed.

"I'm sure you'll do great, Casanova." Reid winked. He elbowed Tyler's ribs once more before zooming off in the other direction.

"Where the hell are _you_ going?" Tyler shouted after him.

"Sorry, man, got stuff to do this afternoon. Besides, you've got her number!" he stuck out both hands into the air, his pinkies, index fingers and thumbs forming an 'I love you' sign at him.

"I'm proud of you baby boy!" he wore an expression of mock pride and continued running, laughing as he did so. His voice faded away in the distance as he rounded a corner and disappeared. Tyler was left helpless in the hallway. He oddly had no idea what to make of his situation.

Why was that?

--

Havoc had transpired all over the house. Bookshelves, vases, chinaware and other items periodically whizzed past every time Faith would let out a sneeze. Hannah had managed to scathe her palm on a couple of rouge glass fragments.

She was forced to contain Faith in her room, only letting her out for bathroom breaks but nothing more.

All throughout the entire day objects kept whirring around hither-thither. Luckily neighbors weren't a problem where they lived. The houses were a good distance away from each other; enough for most people not to hear all the crashing noises but close enough to be considered neighboring houses.

Faith lay slumped over her pillows; her hair bedraggled and frizzy, her nose as red as a tomato and her eyes sullen and droopy. She felt stuffy, unbearably weak and her head was slowly contracting and expanding painfully.

Hannah had fallen asleep beside her, clearly tired from dodging all the objects that had zoomed her way.

Wads of mucous filled Kleenex lay all over the floor, completely missing the waste basket by her bed. Medicine bottles, syrups and a glass of water were situated by her bedside table.

When she was better, she was going to do a lot of repairing.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the door-bell below. Someone was down there.

Faith hesitantly woke Hannah and her guardian groggily rose from her bed.

She patted her patient on the head and coaxed her to continue sleeping. She followed without protest.

Down in their front porch, Tyler stood with Hannah, a polite smile on his face.

"So what brings you to this place?" Hannah asked cheerily after the introductions had been made. She inspected the boy subtly. Maybe this was the boy her Nadine had bumped into at that party.

The boy had said his name was Tyler and explained that he was merely delivering homework for her from their history teacher. But why did he seem so tense when she first opened the door?

He was a polite boy, Tyler. A handsome one, too. A little jumpy, but pleasant nonetheless.

Hannah smiled at him with a sparkle in her eye. She couldn't help but indulge in his thoughts just for this one time.

She crept into his thoughts as charily as possible and gently sifted through his memories until she found the ones she was half-expecting to find. There, she saw the first time they had met and how odd he had thought her Nadine was. Next, she saw the subsequent days that followed their encounter and how often Faith would crash into him accidentally.

The boy was actually beginning to grow fond of Faith.

Hannah let out a small chuckle as she left his thoughts, forgetting that he was standing right in front of her. When she realized this, she took the papers from his outstretched hand and thanked him for dropping by. He looked at her oddly, as expected from her behavior, but was still polite nonetheless.

Their encounter was interrupted by a loud crashing sound from inside the house, followed by another and then another. Tyler avertedly looked from Hannah to inside the house searching for the source of the loud crashing noises. "What was that?"

"Oh my," Hannah stammered and began making her way inside the house. "You better go ahead, Tyler. Thank you again for dropping my Nadine's – I mean, Faith's – homework." she whipped around behind the door to stop him from following her inside.

"Are you sure? Something could be up in there." He asked concernedly. He was sweet.

"Oh it's nothing, I'm sure. Probably the cats up to no good again." She laughed.

Satisfied with her answer, Tyler bade her goodbye and turned to leave. Hannah watched him as he got into his hummer and drove off without one glance back at the house. She hoped she hadn't scared him away.


	6. A Romance of Some Sort

**Chapter 6**

The usual crowd of both kids and a few adults gathered inside the New Tree Café and began filling up the seats. There was a quiet, low, buzz in the room. Small murmurs of conversation were being held while everyone waited for that night's entertainment.

The small platform-slash-makeshift-stage was the center of attention. A flashing, pink, neon sign spelling out the name of the café quietly hummed as numerous electrons flowed through its fluorescent tubes.

A small, wooden barstool was propped up center-stage, as well as a microphone so that whoever would be performing could be heard loud and clear.

Waiters and waitresses working the graveyard shift walked about the café in their uniform moss-green, velvet vests and long-sleeved polos taking orders.

"And now, for your entertainment tonight, the New Tree Café presents: Rebecca Morrigan!" said a slow and easy voice from the speakers above everyone in the room.

A sudden hush washed over the audience as a girl with dark colored hair and spiraling ringlets walked on stage, an acoustic guitar in hand. Her expression was affable.

She did a sweep of the whole audience, surveying each face but looking for one in particular. When she didn't find who she was looking for, a slight expression of disappointment marred her gentle features for a brief moment. She took quick intakes of breath before seating herself on the high barstool and poising herself in a playing position. Her lips hovered over the microphone and she introduced herself to the crowd. When she was sure she was ready, she introduced the title of the song she was about to perform and proceeded to play.

Three notes flittered through the room as the song began to play; Rebecca's voice starting off with a whisper before becoming fuller with each word. As Rebecca began strumming a portion of the chorus on her guitar, she closed her eyes for release. She let her restless soul roam about freely; spreading bits and pieces of herself among the crowd gathered that night. She sang about a lover losing her way and about a love slowly fading.

By the end of the song, Rebecca was satisfied with the amount of applause that echoed through the small café. She nodded her head in appreciation and smiled a well practiced smile. She was a little disheartened tonight, despite the audience's wonderful reactions to her music.

When the ovations had begun to fade, Rebecca continued on to the next song.

–

"…Ask her out."

"No."

"Ask her out."

"No."

"Ask her out!"

"No!" Tyler hissed at Reid. The both of them had been playing this 'game' for a full two minutes now. It was driving him up the wall.

Reid had been repeating the same sentence over and over again; switching from bored tones to perky ones and other variations in between. A small silence fell over both of them for a while before Reid piped up, "Ask her out." Once more.

"What the fuck, Garwin?"

"Oooh, starting to get ballsy, are we?" he smirked and stood, walking over to his friend and stopping mere inches away from his face. "Watcha goin' to do about it, Simms?"

Both of them were engaged in a silent battle of wills at that moment. Each boy was glaring at the other; threatening and testing the other to see if they would give in. Finally, Tyler shoved Reid away from him. The blond merely snickered - much to Tyler's annoyance – and made his way back to the wooden chair he was once situated in as if nothing had happened.

The two boys were at the library; Tyler doing the honest research for their paper while Reid watched and waited impatiently for his partner to finish. He was a busy man and had so much other things to attend to.

Or so he liked to believe.

"Why the hell would you care anyway, if I asked her out?" Tyler asked as he thumbed through an ancient looking, leather-bound, red book with golden trimming. His sleeves were bunched up around his elbows and his hair was even more tousled than usual after the numerous times he had raked his fingers through it at the annoying hassle of having to do research at the library and the annoying hassle of Reid being there to pester him at the same time.

"Because," he began, absently flipping through a history book. "You, my friend, need to get laid."

"You honestly want me to lose it to someone whom in your opinion is a total freak?"

"Hey, beggars can't be choosers."

"Bite me."

"Oh, don't worry. I'm sure she'll do that too, if you get her horny enough." He quipped. Tyler looked up from the book to give his friend a look. Reid returned it with a shrug and a smirk.

"But I'm sure that'll be cake," the blond continued. "She **has** been all over you since the night you guys met. You'll get her in no time." He emphasized his last words with a loud snap of his fingers and wiggled his eyebrows.

"Is that all you think about, Garwin?"

"Only thinking of what's best for you, baby boy." He clicked his tongue against his back teeth.

"Oh, grow up."

"huh, grow balls."

-

Faith was still hacking up globs of phlegm a week after that disastrous first day of her illness. She had spent most of her days in bed and blowing her nose into sheets of Kleenex, all the while trying to control her already out-of-control powers from smashing anything else she owned into the walls, ceilings and floors. And as if that wasn't torture enough, several students had already come and gone by her home to deliver homework for her to do.

Even while she was out sick and actually needed the sleep, the teachers at Spencer would always drown her in schoolwork.

But despite all this, Faith couldn't help but smile at the small fact that it was Tyler who had come by delivering homework _twice_ during the last week. Even though it was Hannah who had gotten to see the boy, there was still that little spark of hope in her, telling her that he may have wanted to check on how she was doing; which gave her something to smile about.

A reasonable amount of furniture in her room had already been thrown around, smashed, and ruined by her while sneezing. Luckily, Hannah was able to repair everything – no matter how many times they had broken into pieces.

Faith was on her bed, reading a heavily paged book on the rise and decline of the Roman Empire. She had switched on the lamp by her bedside table to see what she was reading better, but she had wished that the lamp was broken so that she would have an excuse not to study while viral intruders held camp inside her. All she wanted to do was doze off into a peaceful slumberland, where nothing – not even the flu or homework – would be able to bug her.

_The decline of the Roman Empire, also called the fall of the Roman Empire, or the fall of Rome, is a historical term of __periodization__ for the…_

-

Faith sat back up with a start just as she was about to drift off somewhere else. The sound of something small hitting her windowpane had shaken her out of her semi-conscious state. She rubbed her eyes to wake herself fully and made to stand, shoving the one-ton book off her lap.

_Tick!_came the sound for the second time.

She checked the time on her digital clock by the bedside and found that only a few minutes had gone by. Curious, she pulled back a finger-wide gap between her soft, white curtains, just enough for one eye to see who – or what – was making all the commotion outside below.

Her eyes widened and her heart skipped a full two beats when she saw what was waiting for her down below. She yanked back her finger from the curtains as if it had burned her skin. She breathed in and out before checking once more if what she had seen was real, and not the result of some new virus plaguing her body and mind. Sure enough, at the second look, she had confirmed to herself that it was, in fact, Tyler Simms staring up at her window expectantly.

She steadied herself with the desk beside her window and fought hard to stifle her squeals of girlish giddiness. She allowed herself a moment to recollect and, after checking her reflection in the mirror, silently pushed up her window and popped her head out to look down on him. She couldn't help but smile when she saw Tyler's beautiful blue eyes gleam wonderfully at her in the pale moonlight.

"What are you doing here?" she whispered to the night, trying to sound as less nasal as possible.

"I just wanted to see how you were doing, since I don't see you around school anymore." He explained meekly. Her ears deafened with the sound of her own pounding heart as she looked at Tyler's soft smile.

"You really shouldn't have come," she whispered to him again, trying not to attract attention from anyone around the neighborhood or in the house. "At least not like this."

"What?" he cupped his ear in his palm.

"I said: you shouldn't have come like this!"

Tyler shrugged his shoulders and shook his head to signal that he still couldn't hear. Faith gave a sigh and was about to speak louder when he had held out a palm to stop her. '_Wait right there._' He mouthed and sprinted towards the old oak tree, whose branches just barely reached out to her window. Instantly the girl knew what he was up to.

As if to confirm her thoughts, a small rustling of leaves sounded from her left and a black silhouette of a boy slowly materialized into the form of Tyler, clinging carefully on the thickest branch.

"Now, where were we?"

Faith simply giggled at him. She couldn't help but feel so elated. "You really shouldn't have come like this."

"Like what? Climbing up a tree just to talk to you?" he said it like it was the most normal thing to do in the world. Faith raised a brow, questioningly.

"Okay, so I don't normally do this. I'm not really feeling all that normal tonight."

"Meaning what?" she grinned.

"You better watch out, not only werewolves transform during full moons."

"Is that so?" she was feeling better and better with every minute he was there, like he was some sort of cure.

"Yes, I do believe that is so." He leaned in closer to her face.

"And Garwin says _I'm_ the geek."

"How do you know what he says about you?" he questioned. She had slipped up and was madly thinking of an excuse as to why she had known.

"Uhm… well… you know… people talk… it's a small school." She stuttered, refusing to openly confessing that she had read his best friend's mind.

"Yeah, give or take a couple hundred students." He quipped. She was relieved that he had not seemed suspicious of her.

"So, how've you been?" he asked her, locking his baby blue eyes onto her dark brown ones.

"Been sick as a dog." She sighed.

"Really? You don't _look_ sick, to me. You sure you aren't doing this just so you can ditch a couple of days of school?"

Faith put her hands on her hips in a mock look of shock and anger. "How dare you accuse _me_ of trying to get out of class? Who's ever heard of such a terrible thing? Me? Trying to wriggle my way out of class? Preposterous."

The both of them laughed at this. "But seriously though, I am sick!"

Tyler reached to feel her neck with an outstretched arm. "Well, you don't _feel_ sick, either."

"Really? Are you sure about that?"

"You don't _sound_ sick, either."

"I am sick!" she insisted. "Here, try again." She took his hand and pressed the back of his palm on the surface of her neck. She was surprised when he didn't let go of her hand. Instead, Tyler simply led her small hand to the direction of his lips.

She blushed furiously at the thought of what he was about to do.

**I'm in need of a beta reader (or two). Someone who can help me with my plot flow is all I need. So, if you're interested: please, please, PLEASE pm me. **

**Also, please review! Thanks!**

**-****deaselene**


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